Source: News One

35-year-old Mario L. Hunt, a special-needs teaching assistant has been arrested following accusations that he molested and infected a male student with HIV, News One reports.

Hunt, who is said to be fully aware of his HIV status, is also being investigated in a similar case involving another student. On Monday, Hunt was charged with felony counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and “transmitting” HIV through intimate contact. The incident occurred back in 2011 when the student was 17 years old. As of right now, authorities are unsure if the student was infected with the virus, but because Hunt exposed him to it, he is being charged with “transmitting” HIV.

Lt. Dennis Plew of the Cahokia Police Department says he’s unsure if the now 19-year-old student has been tested for the virus at all. 

“This is horrible. I’m sure some kids come to school and put a lot of trust in a teacher, and for anyone to take advantage of that is a terrible thing,” Plew expressed to an AP reporter.

To make matters worse, Hunt is actually an alumnus of the Cahokia School District.

“You always think something like this isn’t going to happen here and we’d be able to see something, but it’s just so tough to know. Realistically, what can you do? It’s hard to tell what’s going on in people’s hearts and minds,” said the district’s Superintendent Art Ryan.

Ryan also added that Hunt was very popular among students and that he frequently helped out with homecoming and prom events.

“All of the kids certainly seemed to like him,” he said.

This is a very unfortunate situation. It’s very sad that our young people are being taken advantage of by the people they trust, especially in a school of all places.

Nicki Minaj is everywhere you turn these days,  from the TV set on “American Idol,” to E! news exclusives on AI drama, and now the June/July cover of Teen Vogue.

Despite covering a mag geared toward teens and tweens, the Queen Barbz actually talked about some heavy stuff in her interview, including why she can’t be bothered playing childish games with grow arse women (we’re gonna guess that means Mariah Carey). Check out snippets from the Q&A:

On industry drama

People treat this business like it’s high school. It can absolutely feel like one big popularity contest, and you know what? I can’t be bothered. I can’t allow myself to play ridiculous games with grown adults in the industry. I can’t be nice to someone just because they’re hot right now. I can’t do it.

On being affected by her parent’s dysfunction 

Every time my parents fought, my mother would have us move and I would have to go to a new school, which meant I’d have to face the task of making new friends. I dreaded it. I had butterflies in my stomach each time: Are people going to like or hate me? … Sometimes there’d be a fight, sometimes not. I let people know I wasn’t going to be pushed around.

On dealing with people’s negative opinions of her

“My journey to who I am today began on MySpace. I love getting real opinions from people.”

“I used to read the bad things people said about me, then I asked myself, ‘Why am I reading that when I have millions of people saying great things?’ You cannot give negativity power. I tell teens, if you’re having a problem, there’s nothing wrong with deleting your social media. If people keep taunting you and you keep reading it, it’s poison.

We definitely believe the industry is like high school, but in the same way you shouldn’t be nice to someone just because they’re hot, Nicki should also remember you can’t be rude to someone just because they ask you something you don’t like. She seems to be forgetting she has quite a few mean girl tendencies herself.

What do you think about her interview? Check out a few more photos from her spread on the next pages.

After our first piece on celebrities going to the prom seemed to get a big reaction, we thought, why not do it again? And luckily for us, there are a bevvy of throwback pictures still swarming the Internet. Enjoy yourself as you “oooooooooh,” “awwwwwwwwww” and laugh at some of our favorites when they were teenagers trying to be fly at prom.

Tyra Banks

At the age of 15, Tyra Banks had already started modeling seriously, but as her career started to grow, she didn’t let it keep her from being a regular “kid.” She stayed in school during her early modeling days and even found time to go to prom (with a pretty cute date). Check her fresh pose and the captivating stare at the camera. And I respect that even at prom, in the ’90s folks were still wearing pantyhose no matter what. My mother would be proud.

Within the next month or so (or maybe the prom race has already started for the teenagers in your neck of the woods), most high school juniors and seniors will trade in their uniforms and overpriced sneakers to play dress up for a night. That’s right, it’s prom season. We’ve all got our memories from trying to match our ensembles with our dates, kicking off heels we couldn’t walk in to jam on the dance floor, going to the most popular (but cheapest) restaurants in town to eat with friends, and sitting in nail salons and hair salons for hours trying to get our french rolls right and tight. Before they were famous, celebrities were out here doing the same exact thing for their big night. It’s just a bit more entertaining to look back at their prom night photos. So why don’t we do just that?

Shutterstock Images

Let’s back into time…way back into time. Like when you were in high school. While some of us have pretty much stayed the same over the years, a good number of us did a 180. We hit up our Facebook and Twitter followers to see how they’ve changed over the year. See what they had to say.

Rita: Good question. I was a nice girl-at the same time…I goofed around a bit. And yes they would be surprised to see the type of woman I’ve become…more so proud of me. lol

Emicia: I went to LaGuardia High so we were like Glee before Glee LoL. Kelis and Nicki Minaj were there the same time as me actually. Like my classmates, I was eclectic, artistic and mildly socially awkward LoL. I am the same now, just with less egoism and more altruism.

Shana: I was in the band, not so cute with glasses, not popular but people knew who I was. A lot of people are surprised to see the type of woman I am now. I’m a school teacher & a model. All the people that dissed me before are starting to regret their choice.

Devin: I don’t think they would be surprised because I have always been the laughing type but got my work done…

Alexis: I was reserved, quiet, mostly stayed to myself, the studious girl, kept a small but very close circle of friends. I think they’d be surprised to learn I am much more social than I was back then….and probably a lot more congenial. Lol

Markisha: Good, quiet girl, slight tomboy and kept a job. Today The same. No surprise I’m a go getter.

MsParker: I was a Itchbay — it was a defense mechanism after being bullied. Now people say I am one of the sweetest and approachable people.

Andrea: Quiet. A lil freak, now…I speak up for myself and I’m a better freak !!! Lol

Mmderosier: Quiet girl with a book surgically attached to her hands. Nope. Still the same.

Dava: I was a well rounded introvert. I was very involved in school, graduated at the top of my class, known and loved by many. People would be thoroughly surprised to hear about the downward spiral I went through shortly after leaving high school, but would also totally believe that I am steadily making my way back to the person I thought I’d grow up to be back then.

Margaret: I was very quiet and shy. I got picked on quite a bit. But I still have the same friends so they’ve seen me grow.

April: I was the quiet observer. I knew everyone’s business because no one didn’t pay me any attention. I only pushed myself when, the topic excited me, but since graduation, I’ve done everything I said I’d do.

Nicole: Oh yes..that girl I was she and she was me! But I’m teaming up with the Lord now..all about trying to get right.

Sarita: I was really reserved back then I was silly but introverted. People would probably be surprised by me now. I’m proud and outspoken these days. My confidence has gone up. When motherhood began my life as a door mat ended lol

TrebleClef: I was the type that would try to buy friends because I was overweight. Those same people arent worth the occasional school lunch I bought them. Lol I have better friends now.

Alisha: The only people who are surprised are the judgmental church folks who said I would never amount to anything because I didn’t follow everything they said. I asked questions and had my own mind. That’s still true today and it has granted me much success.

Sol: I was a shy skinny Christian jock. Now I’m a plump outspoken heathen.

Prior to all of Lil Wayne’s health problems, he teamed up with Nicki Minaj not only to record the track “High School” from her album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded- The Re-Up, but to do a very interesting video directed by Benny Boom for the song, which included a bedroom scene, hot tubs and heists. Yikes!

The storyline seems to go that Nicki is involved with a wealthy crime boss, and when Weezy and Baby try to do business with the guy, Lil Wayne falls for Nicki, who parades around the mansion half-dressed on flirtatious mode, eyes batting. The two end up all over each other and wind up stealing jewels from the crime boss. Aside from that, things just get confusing. For instance, please excuse the hot tub scenes with the American Idol judge in string swimsuit, because it might not be safe for work (plus, it’s mad random), and the bedroom scene we probably could have used 20 less shots of, but you know Nicki loves to get people talking. However, the song actually isn’t bad (despite the shaky chorus with homegirl trying to sing), and I can see the young girls and boys jamming to it. Check out the video below and let us know if it’s a pass or play for you.

So what do you think? Pass or play?

Source: Mansfield News Journal/Dave Polcyn

During a special ceremony held in her Columbus, Ohio apartment, 106-year-old Reba Williams was presented with her high school diploma by the Mount Vernon School District’s Superintendent, Steve Short, reports the Mansfield News Journal.

Reba moved to Mount Vernon with her parents as a child. She completed 12 years of schooling, but never graduated. Well, until now that is. According to Reba’s daughter Lavata, her mother was denied her diploma after a teacher assigned a final book that she refused to read. Reba expressed that she’d read the book before and had no desire to read it again. Now that she’s older and much wiser, she says she wouldn’t advise the students of today to follow in her footsteps.

“I’d tell them what happened to me. If they expect to get anyplace in this world, they have to learn,” she said.

Recently a profile was done on Williams by the Mansfield News Journal, which garnered the attention of a former Mt. Vernon High School English teacher  and led her to contact the school, requesting that they give Williams her diploma. Last month, the school board unanimously agreed.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Isn’t that wonderful?” Williams said.

During her ceremony, a host of family, friends, journalists and Mt. Vernon High School personnel stood eagerly in her bedroom as Short presented the diploma.

“I get to do a lot of things in education that I enjoy, but this is something I really enjoy. Congratulations, Reba, you are the top of your class. You’ve taught us a lot,” said Short.

“I liked to learn everything. In high school, I took everything that I could,” she said.

“One thing about Mount Vernon, we had good schools. There was no excuse for us not to learn.”

Shutterstock

More evidence of the browning of America. The eighth edition of Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates, released by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), found that the population of U.S. high school graduates is rapidly growing more racially and ethnically diverse. There was also a modest decline in the number of graduates after almost two decades of sustained growth. The former means that the pool of potential college students will be more diverse.

“These two trends will define the ‘new normal’ for our colleges and universities—and will require those of us working in higher education to change the way we do business,” said David Longanecker, president of WICHE, which published Knocking at the College Door with support from ACT and the College Board, in a press statement.

This shift in the demographics of high school students will require policymakers and practitioners to address the needs of  traditionally underrepresented groups.

“Institutions will no longer be able to rely on growth in the number of traditional-aged students to boost funding. At the same time, the changing demographics of our high school graduating classes will mean greater demand for a college education from students we traditionally have not served well,” stated Longanecker. “Higher education must commit to finding innovative, cost-effective ways to prepare those students to succeed in our 21st century global economy.”

According to the study, The District of Columbia, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont all saw declines in high school enrollment (losses of 15 percent or more).  And the new stats in the press release indicate that by 2019/2020, 45 percent of the nation’s public high school graduates are projected to be non-white, up by more than seven percent over the class of 2009.

Driving this trend is the rapid increase in the number of Hispanics completing high school — between the 2008/2009 and 2019/2020 school years, the number of white public high school grads will drop by 228,000, while Hispanic graduates will increase by 197,000. However, there is a disturbing drop among African-American enrollment and completion. The number of black non-Hispanics is expected to drop by 41,000.

Also expected to drop are the number of people enrolled in college. Moody’s Investors Service says the income crush and uncertain job landscape is keeping students away.

“Before the financial crisis of 2008, colleges and universities routinely raised tuition and saw little impact on the number of prospective students who applied. Indeed, some private colleges said that applications actually increased when they bolstered prices, apparently because families equated higher prices with quality,” The New York Times reports.

What do we need to do to raise educational interest from black students?

Getty Images

From ESSENCE

Malia Obama, 14, has four more years left in the White House before she jets off to the college or university of her choice.

But in the meantime her parents, President Obama and First Lady Michelle, have one major hurdle to cross: boys! The First Couple sat down with People to talk about the possibility of Malia dating in the coming future.

The President was asked about his jokes on having the Secret Service keep boys away from Malia and if she wanted to put an end to those rules. “She actually doesn’t pay any attention to what I say,” he said, laughing.

He went on to share he doesn’t worry too much because he and Michelle have set a strong foundation for their girls. “The great thing about the girls is they’ve got a wonderful role model in their mom. They’ve seen how Michelle and I interact — not only the love but also respect that I show to their mom. So I think they have pretty high expectations about how relationships should be, and that gives me some confidence about the future…”

Amen, President Obama. Read the rest of his fairly moving comments about the girls and what Michelle Obama had to add over on Essence.

Are we the only ones who can’t wait to see if Malia will be dating  – and if so, who – over the next four years?

Source: WENN

I’m no fan of Aubrey Graham, the man known to the world as the rapper Drake, but I must say I am impressed with his latest accomplishment. The YMCMB front man just became a high school graduate.

I’m sure someone somewhere is rolling their eyes thinking what’s the big deal, after all the man is 25. But let’s be real, how many people in the music industry, particularly on his level, are thinking about obtaining a high school diploma when they have already amassed enormous wealth and status? Lawd knows ya’ll shade the mess out of Beyonce for her lack of education so I say congratulations are definitely in order for Mr. Drizzy.

Last night, the rapper/actor/low-key wanna-be R&B singer tweeted the good news, saying:

If you’re wondering why this is just now happening, Drake dropped out of school when he got a role on the Canadian TV show “Degrassi: The Next Generation” at 15. He was on the show until 2009, and we all know what happened after that when Weezy F got a hold of him.

It sounds like Drake didn’t take an easy way out to graduate either, shouting out one of his teachers who he credits for his accomplishment:

“Thank you to my teacher Kim Janzen for spending the last 5 months working tirelessly with me!! OVO SOUND”

Go head, Aubrey! C/O 2012